My favorite thing to do on the weekends is to hop on my mountain bike and explore the baragays of Carigara. Carigara extends from the sea to the mountains.  Many of the roads are unpaved which makes it great fun for me on a mountain bike. Not so great for people who need to go to the market or school, paved roads are a good thing. My bike is awesome - aluminum frame, Shimano components, Continental tires - best bike I have ever owned! Cost - 8000 pesos (160 USD). I found a nice outdoor club in Tacloban and joined them for a scuba and kayaking trip for 350 pesos (7 USD). That was a great deal.
June 7, 2003 - 95% of homes in Carigara are wired for electricity. In barangays throughout Carigara you can hear radios and TV's playing from early morning until night. The current favorite TV show in the Paner family (and probably a lot of others) is Meteor Garden. It is a show starring the group F4 (4 guys from Taiwan). They are wildly poplular thoughout Southeast Asia. I first heard their music in 2002 in Thailand while assigned there. They sing in Mandarin, but there are a few english words in some of the verses. It was a favorite there and I tried looking for their music when I returnd to Hawaii.
No luck. I was surprised to hear a familiar song one day on TV. I asked my host sisters what it was. It was F4 in Meteor Garden. Everyday at 5:30PM, everyone gathers around to watch Meteor Garden (picture above). The Philippines has a host of shows that everyone seems to like - Game Ka Na Ba (similar to Want to be a Millionaire)  is popular and hosted by Kris Aquino (the daughter of former President Cory Aquino) and soap opera type shows at night. Filipinos adore their stars - like John Pratts, Heart Evangalista, K.C. Conception and more.

Teodoro Agonillo, author of History of the Filipino People, says the "corroding influence of the American popular song hits which fill the air lanes..is an example of the vulgar dominating the civilized." I don't know about that. The radio music does tend to be Linkin Park, Eminem, Brittney Spears and others. But its what you would hear on I-94 or 93.1 in Hawaii, hip hop, R&B and rap everyday. I don't think the professor is right. It is popular all over the world. In movies, America has a huge influence worldwide  and this is clearly evident in the preferred movies here. Chuck Norris, Van Damme, Arnold and other Americans dominate the movies played and enjoyed. Professor Agoncillo argues that many of the undesirable features of American life have been brought to the Philippines through movies, such as glorification of crime, gangsterism and sex. American movies are entertainment and it gives people what they want. Disney is popular the world over because they make entertainement that transcends culture and language.

A few quotes from books:

Rehab: Psychosocial Rehabilitation for Social Transformation by Edwin T. Decenteco - "To be professionally trained in the Philippines means learning theories and techniques largely inappropriate to Filipinos. Our formal education is based on foreign textbooks assigned by foreign trained teachers who teach foreign concepts to a foreign client population."

Mass by F. Sionil Jose - "I ask you not to look at the poor with rose colored glasses, there is nothing romantic about poverty. It is totally absolutely degrading."

The Pretenders by F. Sionil Jose - "Only third rate Americans go to the Philippines to take money exploting us yokels."
Home
Next
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1